Eternal Brand by Sami Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

teenagers, Jet figured Brand would one day punch him in the mouth for the smartass comments that came out of it. But the first time they’d had a huge fight, when Jet was seventeen, they’d kissed instead. Jet had quickly learned that anger tended to unleash Brand’s passion, so the habit of needling persisted. He’d always enjoyed the way their arguments had ended up.
    Now he saw that in using Emily to provoke a reaction from Brand, he’d gone too far. Brand looked fit to actually punch him this time, and a realization settled in the pit of his stomach like a heavy, cold stone. He really loves her.
    â€œRelax, Brand. I’m kidding,” Jet said, his voice flat. What Brand and Emily had was no passing thing. Brand loved her. He’d moved on and left Jet behind. Again.
    â€œIf you touched her…”
    â€œI didn’t. She only has eyes for you anyway.” Jet decided against telling Brand about the few sizzling exchanges that he and Emily had shared.
    Brand released a breath slowly, calming himself. Then he took a seat on the sofa opposite Jet, sitting on the edge with his hands linked between his splayed knees. Jet took the moment to survey his appearance, take note of what had changed in the last four years. Not much. The same military haircut, the same quiet composure. Brand’s shoulders had always been broad and impressive, but a few years ago he’d been so lean and combat-honed it was almost inhuman. He’d put on some bulk around the torso, probably due to Emily’s great cooking. It looked right on Brand.
    Obviously, Emily was good for him.
    â€œYou didn’t tell her about us,” Brand noted softly.
    â€œI said we were old friends.”
    â€œIt’s not personal, me not talking about you.”
    â€œYou mean it’s not like you cut me out of your life so completely I don’t even rate a mention?” He sounded bitter even to his own ears.
    â€œJet.” Brand caught him with that steady gray gaze. “After I got out of the army, I needed a fresh start. Em made me believe I could have it. She doesn’t insist on knowing everything about me and it works for us.”
    â€œIt works for you,” Jet corrected. “You’re taking advantage of her guileless nature. She doesn’t ask you questions because she trusts you to tell her if there’s anything important she needs to know. You’re using her.”
    â€œNo,” Brand protested, his jaw growing taut. His voice turned husky. “I…I love her.”
    Although Jet had already figured as much, having it confirmed was like a fresh wound to the chest. Especially as Brand had never said those words to Jet. Jet swallowed past the painful lump in his throat. “Have you told her that?”
    Brand stared at Jet, saying nothing. It was as clear an answer as he could give, and Jet’s fury began to mount. He was doing to Emily exactly what he’d done to Jet—keeping his own counsel in a relationship that should have included at least a modicum of sharing. “She’s going to get hurt, and you know it.”
    Abruptly, Brand rose from his seated position. “Why did you come here, Jet?”
    â€œCuriosity.” The lie rolled easily off Jet’s tongue. He was hardly going to admit that he’d come here in the hopes of reconnecting. The idea was laughable. Brand never let anyone connect with him in the first place. “I wanted to see you. Find out if you’d changed.”
    â€œAnd what’s the verdict?”
    Jet stood. They faced each other across the coffee table, Brand with his thick arms folded across his chest, Jet with his hands slipped in the back pockets of his jeans, affecting a casual air he didn’t feel. “You haven’t changed a bit. You’re still the same scared eighteen-year-old whose response to me saying ‘I love you’ was to join the fucking army and